The New Libya

The Examiner

An improvised explosive device was detonated on Saturday morning outside of the local police headquarters in the Libyan city of Benghazi, according to an Israeli police and intelligence source who monitors North Africa.

The bomb blast caused an enormous amount of property damage but only three officers sustained injuries and there were no reported deaths, according to Capt. Dennis Spielman.

The bomb attack took place at 7 a.m., Libyan time, adjacent to the Fadil Buamr battalion, which had been the last stronghold of loyalists to Libya's executed dictator Moamar Khadhafi, according to Reuters.

Police investigators told the media that there were no civilians at the police station when the blast occurred, and said the bomb was probably detonated by remote control.

Saturday's bombing was the third time that the Benghazi police station was attacked. In January 2013, a bomb exploded at the back of the station but no one was killed or injured in that blast.

Then in February, a car bomb exploded near the station in downtown Benghazi leaving no casualties, local security sources reported.

On Tuesday, a powerful bomb blast occurred outside of the French embassy in the Libya's capital, Tripoli, and that bombing destroyed the outer walls of the complex as well as some surrounding homes. Many observers said they believed it was a miracle that no one was killed in any of these bombings.

No one as of yet has claimed responsibility for the police station bombing.

Benghazi has been targeted by several bombings and a surge of assassinations in recent months. The attacks are usually attributed to Islamic extremists, including the one on the US consulate that killed Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans on Sept. 11, 2012.

Jim Kouri is an investigaive law enfroceement journalist writing for The Examiner